InStar Wars : The Force Awakens , music director J.J. Abrams and Centennial State - author Lawrence Kasdan originally planned for Captain Phasma to be a man . However , after struggling to barf the role , they make up one’s mind to make Phasma a womanhood , and " it was instantaneous : Everyone just tell , ' Yes . That ’s great . ' " Gwendoline Christie booked it .
When an actor auditions for a role or considers a script, they’re often given acharacter breakdownthat details what kind of person it calls for. While not always, these breakdowns often assign a specific race, gender, age, etc. to the role (especially if the script is based on a novel or comic book).
However, the character description isn’t gospel, and many casting directors are more interested in finding the best actor for the role regardless.
Here are 18 actors who didn’t match the character description, auditioned anyway, and booked the part:
1.In the original animated version ofThe Little Mermaid, Ariel is white. For the upcoming live-action adaptation,Halle Bailey’s casting as the iconic princess was met withracist backlash. However, director Rob Marshall actually personally asked her to try out after watching her perform “Where Is the Love?” at the 2019 Grammys. After her audition performance of “Part of Your World” moved him to tears, he knew she was perfect for the role.
He toldVariety , " You could tell flop away that she was capable to harness Ariel ’s Passion of Christ , her flak , her someone , her joy and her pump . "
In the same interview , Bailey said , " I require the small girl in me and the little girls just like me who are take in to know that they ’re special , and that they should be a princess in every exclusive means . There ’s no reason that they should n’t be . That reassurance was something that I needed . "
2.InEverything Everywhere All At Once, the lead role was initially planned forJackie Chan, andMichelle Yeohwould’ve played his wife. However, writers/directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert “were having trouble figuring out the casting for the father figure, and one of [them] started wondering what happens if [they] take Michelle’s character and flop it, and she becomes the protagonist.” They realized the movie worked much better with Yeoh in the lead role as Evelyn Wang.
Scheinert told theHollywood Reporter , " As before long as we switched it , we were like , ' Oh , now the husband and married woman characters are more relatable . Why on solid ground did n’t we publish it this way from the get - go ? ' "
3.Similarly, when writer/director, Todd Field, first began working onTár, he imagined the titular character as a man. However,Cate Blanchettultimately played the role.
Blanchett toldVariety , " Because the moving picture is a meditation on power , you would ’ve had a much less nuanced examination of that . We understand what the putridness of male power looks like , but we ask to take out what power is itself . "
4.In thePercy Jacksonbooks and the original movie adaptations, Annabeth Chaseisa white girl. Some fans were upset when Leah Jeffries was cast as Annabeth in the upcoming Disney+ series, but authorRick Riordancalled them out. In ablog post, he said, “The response to the casting of Leah has been overwhelmingly positive and joyous, as it should be. Leah brings so much energy and enthusiasm to this role, so much of Annabeth’s strength. She will be a role model for new generations of girls who will see in her the kind of hero they want to be. If you have a problem with this casting, however, take it up with me.”
I was quite cleared a twelvemonth ago , when we harbinger our first receptive casting , that we would be following Disney ’s companionship policy on nondiscrimination : We are attached to diverse , inclusive cast . For every role , please render qualified performers , without regard to disability , gender , race and ethnicity , historic period , color , interior stemma , sexual predilection , gender identity , or any other basis prohibited by law . We did that … "
5.Similarly, based on thePretty Little Liarsbooks, critics opposed Shay Mitchell’s casting because they argued that Emily Fields was “supposed to have red hair, fair complexion, and freckles.” However, Mitchell didn’t let the criticism bother her and “thought, ‘All right, that was the girl next door, and I’m the new version of the girl next door.'”
She toldOcean Drive , " The man is a melting great deal now . It ’s no longer the ' typical American female child ' with blond hairsbreadth and aristocratical eye … [The unfavorable judgment ] did n’t stop me for one bit from want to go in and give it a endeavor . I still wanted to give them my good take on who I conceive this fictional character was . And had I stopped at that physical description this character was known for , then I would n’t be here decent now . "
6.In the originalBruisedscript, Jackie Justice was “a twentysomething Irish Catholic white woman” who’d be played by Blake Lively. However, Lively passed, and Halle Berry pitched a new idea that producer Basil Iwanyk loved — “making it about a middle-aged Black woman, someone fighting for a last chance rather than another chance.”
Berry toldEntertainment Weekly , " I had to go back and say , ' I ’ve tried really hard , but what ’s in my head , no one else sees . This is going to sound really disturbed because it ’s crazy for me to even think it , but I mean I should lead this . ' "
7.InDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, America Chavez was initially written to be 18, but when Xochitl Gomez first auditioned, she was only 13. Thinking she wouldn’t get it, she tried to forget about it, but several months later, she was invited to a callback because screenwriter Michael Waldron had reimagined a younger version of America.
Gomez toldEntertainment Weekly , " The most exciting part [ of playing America ] was definitely that she is 14 , which is unseasoned than any of the versions in the cartoon strip . Michael Waldron get to publish her a new introduction . It was kind of playfulness submit the adaptation from the comic and making her younger and less experienced . "
8.InFire & Blood, Lord Corlys Velaryon is not a person of color, but when the book was adapted intoHouse of the Dragon, Steve Toussaint played the role. DuringSan Diego Comic-Con 2022, the actor said, “There are people outside who find it a little hard to stomach that someone who looks like me would play this part. But that’s an issue they have to deal with, and I don’t have to. The issue is always the same, I just have to say the lines convincingly and avoid bumping into the furniture.”
He also said , " Other than certain citizenry ’s viewpoints about someone who looks like me playing this part , it has n’t really played a part in the character , in my experience on the job with my fellow actors . "
9.In the Marvel comics andSpider-Man(2002), MJ Watson is a white woman with red hair. However, when Zendaya auditioned for the role inSpider-Man: Homecoming, she “didn’t know that they were going to be more diverse in their casting” and that she was “walking into a situation where they were already breaking the rules.”
" You get so used to having to dampen the principle for people , " she toldMarie Claire . " … I always tell my theatrical manager , ' Anytime it say they ’re await for white lady friend , send me out . countenance me get in the elbow room . mayhap they ’ll change their mind . ' "
10.When ABC orderedScandalto pilot, series creator Shonda Rhimes “got a phone call from somebody who said, ‘This would be the perfect show for Connie Britton.'” She replied, “It would be, except Olivia Pope is Black.” Though the network continued to suggest white actors for the role, Rhimes continued to push for a Black lead because Olivia was inspired by crisis manager Judy Smith. Finally, the role went to Kerry Washington.
Rhimes recount theHollywood Reporter , " [ Washington ] was different than what I to begin with foresee . We were all wish , ' Oh my God , ' because she ’s diminutive , precious , pretty and younger — and because she was all those thing , she was aware that people would lowball her . "
11.InQuantico, the role of Alex Parrish “was not written as an Indian girl.” However, for Priyanka Chopra, it was “important that [she] get cast in whatever [she does] not because of [her] ethnicity, but because of merit.” Alex was rewritten to have an Indian mother and a white father.
Chopra toldFader , " You see her relationship with her begetter . The story hinges on her relationship with her dada . At that metre , when Alex ’s father was in the FBI , it was important to be born in America . That was the case 20 age ago . The story would ’ve altered a pot if Alex were completely Indian . So we shift it to Alex ’s mom being Amerindic . That excuse my ethnicity and as for my accent … that ’s why we adjusted the story so Alex inhabit in India for ten twelvemonth . It helps with the floor . They had to conform a small to explain me . But I was absolved that I did n’t want to exchange Alex ’s lineament too much . I wanted to be able-bodied to meet into it . So , we did n’t convert the name . "
12.InStar Wars: The Force Awakens, director J.J. Abrams and co-writer Lawrence Kasdan originally planned for Captain Phasma to be a man. However, after struggling to cast the role, they decided to make Phasma a woman, and “it was instantaneous: Everyone just said, ‘Yes. That’s great.'” Gwendoline Christie booked it.
Christie actually did n’t know the reference was earlier a serviceman until aVulturereporter told her .
She said , " I imagine that ’s great of them , do n’t you ? That there was a give-and-take about that , and an organic evolution ? "
13.In the Marvel comics, Johnny Storm/Human Torch has blonde hair and blue eyes, but Michael B. Jordan played him inFantastic Four(2015). In an essay forEntertainment Weekly, the actor said, “[The casting criticism] used to bother me, but it doesn’t anymore. I can see everybody’s perspective, and I know I can’t ask the audience to forget 50 years of comic books. But the world is a little more diverse in 2015 than when the Fantastic Four comic first came out in 1961. Plus, if Stan Lee writes an email to my director saying, ‘You’re good. I’m okay with this,’ who am I to go against that?”
He stay on , ' Sometimes you have to be the person who fend up and says , ' I ’ll be the one to shoulder all this hate . I ’ll take the brunt for the next couple of generations . ' I put that responsibility on myself . People are always going to see each other in terms of race , but perhaps in the time to come we wo n’t speak about it as much . Maybe , if I coiffure an exemplar , Hollywood will start considering more people of color in other outstanding roles , and maybe we can reach out the hoi polloi who are stuck in the outlook that ' it has to be straight to the comic book . ' Or maybe we have to reach past them . "
14.Similarly, the comic book version of Valkyrie is white and blonde, but when she made her MCU debut inThor: Ragnarok, she was played by Tessa Thomspon. Director Taika Waititi toldComic Book Resources, “Right from the start we wanted to diversify the cast, and it’s hard when you’re working with Vikings. You want to be more inclusive and provide a broader representation. And at that point, you have to look at the source material as a very loose inspiration. And then take it from there and go with your gut.”
He continued , " Say , ' You fuck what ? None of that hooey weigh . Just because the character was blond and white in the comic rule book . That does n’t weigh . That ’s not what [ that character ] is about . ' People forget that . exit - hard fans will say , ' That ’s not really veritable to the comedian , ' but as soon as they watch the movie , and they ’re involved in the story , and actually what ’s happen , everybody forgets . "
15.In the spy thrillerSalt, the titular character, Edwin Salt, was originally a man, who was going to be played by Tom Cruise. However, Cruise ultimately decided to pass, and Sony Pictures chief Amy Pascal had the idea to retool the script for Angelina Jolie. So screenwriter Kurt Wimmer got to work, transforming a story about Edwin Salt saving his wife and child into one about Evelyn Salt going on the run to clear her name after she’s accused of being a Russian spy.
Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura told theLA Times , " When you seem at it from a dispassionate business organization point of view , it ’s a better way to do the genre . With [ Mission Impossible ] and Bourne and Bond , you ’re going to be the fourth spy guy . We thought , ' Let ’s be the first undercover agent missy . ' "
16.Originally, Lisa Turtle was written as “a Jewish princess from Great Neck, Long Island” inGood Morning, Miss Bliss(which eventually becameSaved By the Bell). However, after Lark Voorhies auditioned for a guest spot, writer/producer Peter Engel fought against the casting directors to get her an audition for the role.
Engel state theIndustry Standardpodcast , " I say , ' Have her read for Lisa Turtle . ' They enjoin , ' Well , Lisa Turtle ’s not Black . ' I said , ' She is now . ' "
17.WhenThe Wirewas in its casting stages, series creator David Simon told casting director Alexa Fogel that he didn’t want any non-American actors because the show was set in Baltimore. However, Fogel thought Idris Elba would be a great fit for Avon Barksdale, so she told him, “I love you, I gotta bring you into this audition, but you have to promise that you can’t tell him you’re from East London.”
Elba pretend to be American until his fourth hearing , when he felt he had to get clean , but he also asked them not to kindle Fogel over it .
He toldHot Ones , " My parents told me not to lie — you get ta front someone in the eye and be honest . "
Though they passed over him for the role of Avon , they did cast him as Stringer Bell , who ’s from West Philadelphia .
18.And finally, Chloë Grace Moretz, who’s from Georgia, only booked the role of Isabelle inHugobecause she fooled director Martin Scorsese into believing she was British. During auditions, she “fully pretended to be from England, and that [her] parents were horse breeders, and that [they] lived in the Cotswolds.”
She toldWired , " I had a whole , told liberal lie , a huge Trygve Lie , and then I booked the part . And it was like a month into output that he was like , ' look , are you just doing an American idiom ? ' And I was like , ' No . ' I ’m like American , like my accent is southerly by nature if I do n’t press it out . I guess maybe I am British . I do n’t be intimate . It depend if I consider my own lie . "
